On to Scotland

Early start today...up at 4:30, room checks at 5:30, leaving at 6:00, Stena Line ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan, Scotland. The ferries are very nice and spacious, with good shops and food. And this one had free refills on hot drinks...yay coffee! 

We docked and saw Scotland is beautiful and lushly green along the coast. Rocky coastlines for the most part, but nice sandy beaches, too. And castles, remnants of castles, and cathedral spires in every village! 

The island on the right (not the dome) is Paul McCartney's. Yes, his island, he owns it.

Drove by Turnberry Golf Club just off the coast, a beautiful British Open course. Tomorrow we go to Elmwood for lessons and then St. Andrews where we will be just across from Old Course on the cliffs. 

As we ventured farther inland, we arrived in Stirling, a gorgeous medieval town. On a hill across from the town is Wallace Tower...William Wallace. (Braveheart) We went to Stirling Castle which was the stronghold of Robert the Bruce and has a richly violent history a thousand years ago. More recent residents include Mary Queen of Scots. Inside the castle were the palace heads...incredibly ornate wooden carved heads/faces/bodies. The intricate detail was amazing! Unfortunately we were only able to be there for about an hour, so didn't see or experience nearly enough of the castle and we weren't able to have am orientation in Stirling to learn more about it.

Wallace Tower

They may take our lives...but they will never take our FREEDOM!! -Wm. Wallace

We left Stirling and drove north to Pitlochry through thickly wooded winding roads...it looks just like Seattle or Oslo here! We are staying in a youth hostel in Pitlochry, a small village with lots of character. Big adventure of the day? Hauling all our luggage up a very steep, winding street and steeper driveway about a block to get to the hostel! Lungs and legs were protesting for sure. After dinner at the hostel, we all walked down to town and to a park where they were having a pipe and drum night! These local bagpipers were phenomenal! Dancers both young and old and singers, too. The kids crashed a group of boys similar to our Boy Scouts and joined in some Highland Games-type activities, and then a soccer match ended when one of our boys went for a header with a taller local and ended up with a bloody scalp from a tooth-skull collision! After a trip to a nearby clinic, he was cleaned up and ok. An adventure for sure!!

At the end of Highland Night the pipes paraded up the road and through to the town square, and we hiked uphill back to our rooms. (And no free WiFi at the hostel!)